Playboy editor's case is a test for Indonesia

On Wednesday, Erwin Arnada, editor of the now-defunct Indonesian edition of Playboy, will be released from Jakarta's high-security Cipinang prison for a few short hours to stand beside his legal team in Indonesia's Supreme Court.

The Court has already sentenced him to two years in prison for public indecency, based on pictures the magazine published in 2006. Arnada's appearance on Wednesday will mark the beginning of an appeals process that could take up to a year.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and many international human rights
groups have asked the Supreme Court to reverse its decision. We have
also called upon President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to allow Arnada to
remain free while the Court reviews his case.

So far, these appeals have fallen on deaf ears. We hope this will
change. Arnada has cooperated with authorities from the beginning. He
does not pose a flight risk. He surrendered himself to prison authorities on October 9, even though his conviction followed rulings from
two lower courts, both of which overturned the charges against him.

Arnada has repeatedly demonstrated that he wants to work through the
system to contest the charges against him. He wants to prove his
innocence. He also knows that something larger than his particular case
is at stake. The issue goes beyond publishing images that some people
may have found offensive. (Even this is dubious; by Indonesian newsstand
standards, the Playboy images were actually rather mild.) Arnada knows
his case is about Indonesia's future and whether it will include one of
democracy's crucial ingredients: a robust, independent and free press.

When Arnada launched the Indonesian edition of Playboy in 2006, he found himself in the
crosshairs of the Islamic Defenders Front. The group reportedly attacked
the magazine's Jakarta offices, forcing Arnada to move to Bali, where
Islam does not hold such powerful sway. But after publishing ten issues,
Arnada realized he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to
do what some others quite adamantly felt was the wrong thing. In 2007, he stopped publishing the magazine altogether, after a total of 10
issues.

Yudhyono has said that Indonesia is one of the world's
foremost examples of a modern Muslim society. In September 2009, he
spoke at an academic forum at Harvard, the university that is now
educating his oldest son. He claimed that Indonesia was a model for how
Islam, modern society and democracy could coexist. He said that
tolerance and respect for religious freedom are part of Indonesia's
"trans-generational DNA."

The dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Professor David
Ellwood, also praised Indonesia's progress. "We hope we can learn from
Indonesia's outstanding achievements in various aspects and from the
ways in which you were able to make them," Ellwood was quoted saying in a
report from Antara, Indonesia's official news agency.

But by failing to ensure Arnada's freedom during the appeals process,
President Yudhoyono has taken a step backwards from the ideals he
expressed--and was praised for--during that visit to Harvard.

Arnada's case is a test, one that places Indonesia at a crossroads. On
one side is a nation that muzzles its media; on the other, a modern
Muslim democracy. The Indonesian Supreme Court will rule on Arnada's
appeal, probably within the next year. And if Indonesia is truly
committed to the tolerant, democratic ideals that Yudhyono
spoke of during his Harvard visit, Arnada will go free.

Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program, has reported across the continent for news outlets such as CNN and Asiaweek. He has led numerous CPJ missions, including ones to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Follow him on Twitter @cpjasia and Facebook @ CPJ Asia Desk.